Comparison of the antibacterial activity of essential oils and extracts of medicinal and culinary

19 Pages·2013·2.44 MB·English

Thompsonetal.BMCComplementaryandAlternativeMedicine2013,13:338
http://www.biomedcentral.com/1472-6882/13/338
RESEARCH ARTICLE Open Access
Comparison of the antibacterial activity of
essential oils and extracts of medicinal and
culinary herbs to investigate potential new
treatments for irritable bowel syndrome
Aiysha Thompson1†, Dilruba Meah1†, Nadia Ahmed1†, Rebecca Conniff-Jenkins1, Emma Chileshe1, Chris O Phillips2,
Tim C Claypole2, Dan W Forman3 and Paula E Row1*
Abstract
Background: Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a common functional gastrointestinaldisorder, which may result
from alterationof the gastrointestinal microbiota following gastrointestinal infection, or with intestinal dysbiosis or
small intestinal bacterial overgrowth. This maybe treated with antibiotics,but there is concern that widespread
antibiotic use might lead to antibiotic resistance. Someherbal medicines have been shown to be beneficial, but
their mechanism(s) of action remain incompletely understood.Totry to understand whether antibacterial properties
might be involved in theefficacy of these herbal medicines, and to investigatepotentialnew treatments for IBS, we
have conducteda preliminarystudy in vitro to compare the antibacterial activityof the essential oils of culinary and
medicinal herbs against thebacterium, Esherichia coli.
Methods: Essentialoils were testedfor theirabilityto inhibit E.coli growth indisc diffusionassaysand in liquid
culture, and to kill E.coli ina zone of clearance assay. Extractsof coriander,lemon balm and spearmint leaveswere
testedfor their antibacterial activityin thedisc diffusionassay. Disc diffusion and zone ofclearanceassays were
analysed by two-tailed ttests whereas ANOVA was performed for theturbidometric assays.
Results: Most of the oilsexhibited antibacterial activity in allthreeassays, however peppermint, lemon balm and
coriander seed oilswere most potent, with peppermintand coriander seed oils being more potent than the
antibiotic rifaximin inthe disc diffusion assay. The compoundspresent inthese oilswere identified by gas
chromatography mass spectrometry. Finally, extracts were made of spearmint, lemon balm and corianderleaves
withvarious solvents and these were testedfor theirantibacterial activityagainst E.coli in thedisc diffusionassay.
Ineach case, extractsmade with ethanol and methanol exhibited potent antibacterial activity.
Conclusions: Many of the essential oils had antibacterial activity inthethree assays, suggesting that they would be
goodcandidates for testing inclinical trials. The observed antibacterial activityof ethanolic extracts ofcoriander,
lemon balm and spearmint leaves suggests a mechanistic explanation for the efficacy ofa mixtureof coriander,
lemon balm and mint extracts against IBS in a published clinical trial.
Keywords: Irritable bowel syndrome, IBS, Smallintestinal bacterial overgrowth, SIBO, Herbal medicine, Antibacterial,
Antimicrobial, Essential oil
*Correspondence:[email protected]
†Equalcontributors
1BiochemistryGroup,CollegeofMedicine,CareofGroveReception,Swansea
University,SingletonPark,SwanseaSA28PP,UK
Fulllistofauthorinformationisavailableattheendofthearticle
©2013Thompsonetal.;licenseeBioMedCentralLtd.ThisisanopenaccessarticledistributedunderthetermsoftheCreative
CommonsAttributionLicense(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0),whichpermitsunrestricteduse,distribution,and
reproductioninanymedium,providedtheoriginalworkisproperlycited.
Thompsonetal.BMCComplementaryandAlternativeMedicine2013,13:338 Page2of19
http://www.biomedcentral.com/1472-6882/13/338
Background methane, which is associated with IBS-C [18-21]. In one
Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a functional gastrointes- study, 78% of IBS patients tested positive for SIBO using
tinaldisorder,whichaffects10–22%oftheUKpopulation thelactulosehydrogenbreath test(LHBT)[22].
andisresponsiblefor20–50%oftheworkloadofgastro- There is currently some controversy surrounding the
enterology departments [1].IBSis characterised by altered use of lactulose hydrogen breath tests to diagnose SIBO
bowel habit, pain, and wind or bloating, which all severely and, consequently, the role of SIBO in IBS. Early breath
affect quality of life and may last for decades. IBS can be tests diagnosed SIBO if hydrogen was excreted in two
classified into subgroups depending on the predominant bursts, corresponding to bacterial fermentation in the
bowel symptom, namely constipation-predominant (IBS- small intestine, and in the colon. Later, hydrogen excre-
C), diarrhoea-predominant (IBS-D) or alternating between tion within 90 minutes of lactulose ingestion was taken
the two (IBS-A) [2,3]. Post-infectious (PI) IBS may arise as diagnostic of SIBO. However, a recent study has com-
afteranepisodeofacutegastroenteritis[4]. bined LHBTs with scintigraphy to follow the movement
The causes of IBS remain poorly understood, and in- of a radiolabelled tracer through the gastrointestinal
clude altered gut motor function, visceral hypersensitiv- tract [23]. Hydrogen excretion within 90 minutes of
ity, abnormal gas handling, alterations in the central lactulose ingestion was found to correlate with fast oro-
nervous system, mild inflammation, disturbances in caecal transit rather than SIBO [23], and it has been
serotonin handling and genetic factors (reviewed in [5]). suggested that glucose would be a better fermentation
Evidence has been mounting in the past decade that al- substrate since it is absorbed before it reaches the colon
terations in the gastrointestinal microbiota may also play [17,21,24]. Using the ability to culture 1 × 105 colonic
a role in IBS. An early study showed that patients with bacteria from duodenal or jejunal aspirates as the gold
IBS-D excretedabnormallyhigh levels of hydrogencom- standard for SIBO diagnosis, SIBO was diagnosed in 4%
pared to healthy individuals, suggesting that there was of IBS patients and healthy control subjects in one study
abnormal bacterial fermentation of ingested foods [6]. [14] and in 10.9% of IBS patients in another [25].
An exclusion diet reduced this. More recently the Modestly raised bacterial counts (≥ 1 × 103 cfu/ml) were
gastrointestinal microbiota of IBS patients have been found in 43% of IBS patients compared to 12% of
compared with those from healthy subjects by bacterial healthy controls in the first study [14] and 37% of IBS
culture or molecular approaches [reviewed in 7,8]. Many patients in the second [25], suggesting that perhaps a
studies have found alterations in the numbers of bacter- more modest overgrowth of bacteria than previously
ial species present, or in the abundance of particular thought might contribute to IBS. Of note, lipopolysac-
bacterialspecies.Thefindingsvary,butacommonfeature charide from Gram-negative bacteria speeds up gastro-
seems to be a reduction in the number of Bifidobacteria intestinal transit [26], raising the possibility that modest
and increased numbers of Firmicutes and Enterobacteria- numbers of bacteria in the small intestine could speed
ceae in samples from IBS patients compared to control up transit of lactulose (and chyme) to the colon, and
samples. result in a positive LHBT (and IBS) without fermenting
IBS has also been linked to small intestinal bacterial thelactulosethemselves.
overgrowth, [reviewed in 7,9,10], although this is cur- One Gram-negative bacterium that has been impli-
rently somewhat controversial [8]. In SIBO, bacterial cated in IBS and SIBO is Escherichia coli. An early study
numbers can rise from normal levels of 100-4 colony found E. coli throughout the gastrointestinal tract of pa-
forming units (cfu) of bacteria/ml in the terminal je- tients with SIBO [27]. E. coli was present in jejunal and
junum,100-5 cfu/mlinthe proximal ileum and 105-8 cfu/ duodenal aspirates from patients with IBS and SIBO
mlintheterminalileum[11,12]to1011cfu/ml [9].SIBO [14,25], in addition to Klebsiella and Enterococcus
is currently defined as the presence of ≥1 × 105 cfu/ml species. E. coli was found to be more prevalent in the
of colonic bacteria in the jejunum [13,14]. In contrast to mucosalmicrobiota ofIBSpatientsthanthose of healthy
the normal situation in which digestion and absorption control subjects when biopsy specimens were labelled
of food is complete before the bolus reaches bacteria in with fluorescent in situ hybridisation probes [28], and
the colon, in patients with SIBO, ingested food comes enteroaggregative strains of E. coli were present in
into contact with bacteria in the jejunum and ileum, and higher numbers infaecal samples from IBS patients than
is fermented to produce gas, which has been visualised those from healthyindividuals[29].
in the small intestine by abdominal radiography [15]. Therearecurrentlyvariousmedicinesavailabletotreat
SIBO is typically diagnosed by giving patients a drink IBS, including fiber, antispasmodic agents, and anti-
containing a poorly digestible sugar such as lactulose, depressants to modulate pain perception [30]. Tricyclic
and analysing their breath gases at intervals (reviewed in antidepressants block diarrhoea whereas serotonin re-
[16,17]). Glucose can also be used. The main gases ex- uptake inhibitors can benefit IBS-C patients by stimulat-
cretedarehydrogen, whichisassociated with IBS-D,and ing gastrointestinal motility [30]. In agreement with the
Thompsonetal.BMCComplementaryandAlternativeMedicine2013,13:338 Page3of19
http://www.biomedcentral.com/1472-6882/13/338
idea that alterations in the gastrointestinal microbiota fermentable substrates available to the gastrointestinal
are involved in IBS, there has been considerable success microbiota.Earlyworkpioneeredtheuseofanexclusion
with treatments that reverse this. Clinical trials have diet consisting of one meat, one fruit and distilled or
shown that antibiotics can be effective in treating IBS spring water for a week. If the patient’s IBS symptoms
[31,32]. Successful eradication of SIBO, and reversal of resolved, foods were reintroduced one at a time and any
the symptoms of IBS have been achieved by treating IBS resulting IBS symptoms noted [47]. Two thirds of the
patients with antibiotics such as metronidazole [33], patients reported resolution of their symptoms on the
neomycin [18], the non-absorbable antibiotic rifaximin exclusion diet, and wheat, corn, dairy products, coffee,
(reviewed in [34]), a combination of rifaximin and cipro- tea and citrus fruits were found to provoke IBS symp-
floxacin [35], or a combination of rifaximin and neomy- toms, even in a double blind food challenge. A more
cin for IBS-C patients who produce methane [36]. relaxed exclusion diet consisting of fish and meat (apart
Reduction of hydrogen or methane excretion was linked from beef) and rice, and lacking dairy products, citrus
to improvement in gastrointestinal symptoms and rifaxi- fruits, yeast, tap water and caffeinated drinks, reduced
min was particularly effective in treating wind and bloat- hydrogen excretion by IBS patients in addition to resolv-
ing. Currently, NICE guidelines do not mention the use ing their symptoms [6]. This exclusion diet has been de-
of antibiotics for the treatment of IBS in the UK [37]. scribed in more detail [48]. These and other exclusion
SIBO can return after treatment, however [38] and there diets have been found to be useful under medical super-
is concern that widespread and prolonged treatment vision by NICE [37], which also recommended that it
withantibioticscouldleadtotheemergenceofantibiotic may be helpful for IBS patients to limit both their fibre
resistant bacterial strains [39]. Indeed rifaximin can be intake, and to eat no more than three portions of fruit
used to treat infections with Clostridium difficile [40], per day. A recent approach to dietary manipulation has
but rifaximin-resistant strains have been isolated [41], rationalised knowledge of the foods that commonly pro-
and the fact that someIBS patientsare carriers of C. dif- voke IBS symptoms with an understanding of their
ficile [42]raisesthepossibility thatwidespread treatment chemical composition, namely the adoption of a diet low
of IBS patients with rifaximin could lead to the produc- in FODMAPs (fermentable oligosaccharides, disaccha-
tion ofmorerifaximin-resistant strainsofC.difficile. rides, monosaccharides and polyols) [49]. This involves
In contrast, the use of probiotics aims to increase the avoiding1)fruitsthatarehigh infructose, 2)dairy prod-
number of beneficial bacteria. Probioticsare livemicroor- ucts apart from butter and hard cheese, because they
ganisms that, when administered in sufficient numbers, contain lactose, 3) vegetables, legumes and cereals (in-
reduce visceral hypersensitivity, improve gastrointestinal cludingwheat)thatcontain theoligosaccharidesfructans
dysmotilityandepithelialintegrity,improveimmunefunc- or galactans and 4) fruits, vegetables and artificial sweet-
tion, and modulate the gut microbiota [7,8]. Two recent eners that contain polyols [49]. Restriction of fructose
systematicreviewsshowedthatprobioticshadamoderate and fructans led to an improvement in gastrointestinal
therapeutic benefit in improving IBS symptoms [43,44]. symptoms in three out of four IBS patients with fructose
ProbioticsreducedthepainofIBSandthiswasstatistically malabsorption [50]. When other patients who had
significant; there was also a significant reduction in attained remission of their IBS symptoms for 3 –
flatulence and a trend towards reduction in bloating [43]. 36 months on a low FODMAPs diet were rechallenged
In particular, lactic acid bacteria were shown to be useful, with fructose or fructans in a placebo-controlled, double
although the therapeutic benefit stopped when adminis- blind clinical trial, their symptoms returned, indicating
tration of the probiotics was terminated [44]. Related to that the fructose and fructans could provoke IBS symp-
this, prebiotics have also been shown to be of modest toms [51]. In another double blind trial by the same
benefit in treating IBS – these are nondigestible dietary group (in Australia), IBS patients on a high FODMAPs
supplements that increase the growth of beneficial bac- diet excreted more hydrogen and experienced more
teria. One clinical trial showed that ingestion of galacto- gastrointestinal symptoms than patients on a low FOD-
oligosaccharide stimulated the growth of bifidobacteria MAPsdiet [52]. More recently, a British group has com-
and alleviated IBS symptoms [45]. Finally, faecal trans- pared the efficacy of a low FODMAPs diet in reducing
plantation has been successfully used to modulate the IBS symptoms with the standard dietary guidelines rec-
gastrointestinal microbiota in a small number of IBS ommended by NICE: more of the patients on the low
patients (reviewed in [46]). This has the advantage that FODMAPsdiet reported an improvement in their symp-
the entire community of colonic bacteria is transplanted, tomsthanthepatientsfollowingtheNICEdietary guide-
ratherthanthe oneor two bacterial species that mightbe lines[53],thiswasespeciallytruefor windandbloating.
presentinaprobioticpreparation. Herbal medicines are also used to treat IBS, both in
An alternative approach to the treatment of IBS is the mainstream medicine, and in complementary and alter-
use of dietary modifications to reduce the amount of native medicines from different traditions; these have
Thompsonetal.BMCComplementaryandAlternativeMedicine2013,13:338 Page4of19
http://www.biomedcentral.com/1472-6882/13/338
been discussed in several excellent reviews [54-56]. (Salvia officinalis), have been used traditionally as diges-
Peppermint(Menthapiperita)oil hasbeenrecommended tives, aiding digestion or reducing flatulence [67,68,70].
for the treatment of IBS by NICE guidelines [37] and is Our hypothesis is that the digestive properties of a par-
widely prescribed in the form of enteric-coated pepper- ticular herb may be linked, at least in part, to the herb’s
mint oil tablets; it has antispasmodic activity [57,58]. antibacterial action. Essentialoilsandherbalextractshave
Grigoleit and Grigoleit performed a meta-analysis of anadvantageoverconventionalantibioticssincetheymay
sixteen placebo-controlled clinical trials studying the use contain severalantibacterial compoundsthatact indiffer-
ofenteric-coatedpeppermintoilcapsulestotreatIBS,and entways,sothatit would bemoredifficult forbacteriato
found that the overall success rate of peppermint oil cap- developresistance.Forinstancelemongrass(Cymbopogon
sules was 58% compared to 29% for placebo [59]. They citratus) essential oil contains at least sixteen compounds
concluded that “peppermint oil…may the drug of first [71] and successfully inhibited the growth of Helicobacter
choice in IBS patients with non-serious constipation or pylori over many bacterial generations, whereas antibiotic
diarrhoea to alleviate general symptoms and to improve resistant H. pylori emerged after ten passages on plates
qualityoflifee.g.painorbloating”.Arecentmeta-analysis containingonlytheantibioticclarithromycin[72].
of four clinical trials confirmed this view [60]. In fact NICE guidelines recommend that further research
peppermintoil,intheformofapreparationcalledPepper- should be conducted to study the possibility of using
mintwaterBP1973,haslongbeenusedtotreatdyspepsia, herbal medicines to treat IBS. With this in mind, in
flatulenceandstomachcramps,andhasjustbeenawarded order to increase our understanding of the mechanism
a traditional herbal registration certificate [61]. Another of action of herbal medicines that have been shown to
herbal preparation that has shown promise in the treat- be beneficial in treating IBS, and to identify other essen-
W
ment of IBS is Iberogast (also called STW-5), a liquid tial oils or extracts that would be useful candidates for
formulation of nine different herbs, namely bitter candy- clinical trials, we have conducted a preliminary study
tuft, or clown’s mustard plant (Iberis amara), German in vitro using a non-pathological strain of E. coli. We
chamomile (Matricaria recutita) flowers, angelica (Angel- have compared the antibacterial activity of essential oils
icaarchangelica)root,caraway(Carumcarvi)fruit,lemon of a range of herbs that have been used traditionally as
balm (Melissa officinalis) leaves, greater celandine (Cheli- digestives, in three separate assays. We found that the
donium majus) aerial parts, liquorice (Glycyrrhiza glabra) essential oils with the most potent antibacterial activity
root, milk thistle (Silybum marianum L) and peppermint in the three assays were those of coriander seed,
oil[62].Inarandomised,double-blind,placebo-controlled lemon balm and peppermint. Interestingly, essential
W
trial, STW 5 (Iberogast ) reduced abdominal pain, prob- oils or extracts of coriander, lemon balm and pepper-
lems with bowel habit and flatulence in IBS patients [63]. mint are all present in herbal medicines that have
W
Iberogast is also effective against functional dyspepsia been validated for use in the treatment of IBS by at
[64] and is widely prescribed in Germany with more than least one clinical trial (without their mechanism of ac-
a million prescriptions being written for it in Germany in tion being ascribed to an antibacterial effect). We
W
2002 [65]. Iberogast has been shown to have antispas- identified the compounds present in the coriander
modic, anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activity, and seed, lemon balm and peppermint essential oils that
alsoactsasasecretagogue(reviewedin[55,62]).Asimilar we had used, by thermal desorption gas chromatog-
mixed herbal extract, called carmint, which consists of raphy mass spectrometry. Finally we tested the anti-
herbal extracts of lemon balm, spearmint (Mentha bacterial activity of extracts of coriander, lemon balm
spicata)andcoriander(Coriandrumsativum),reducedab- and spearmint leaves that had been made with various
dominalpainandbloatinginIBSpatientsinaclinicaltrial solvents to determine whether ethanolic tinctures of
[66].IBS-Dpatientswereprescribedloperamide,andIBS- these herbs (which have been used instead of essential
C patients were prescribed psyllium, plus either carmint oils in some of the IBS medicines) would have antibac-
or placebo;there wasa significantreduction in symptoms terial activity. This has allowed us to propose a new
in theIBS patientstaking carmintcompared tothosetak- mechanism of action for these herbal medicines, and
ingtheplaceboaftereightweeks. suggest some other herbs/essential oils that could be
Herbs have traditionally been used to treat bacterial tested in further clinical trials.
infections [67], for instance lavender (Lavandula
angustifolia) oil and tincture were used to treat wounds Methods
before the First World War. Many culinary herbs have Materials
been reported to possess antibacterial properties [67,68], E. coli strain DH5α, was obtained from Dr. Geertje van
as have the essential oils of these herbs [69]. Many Keulen (Swansea University). All essential oils (listed in
herbs,forinstancefennel(Foeniculumvulgare),lavender, Table 1) were obtained from Amphora Aromatics,
peppermint, rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis) and sage Bristol, UK. Coriander plants were obtained from Tesco
Thompsonetal.BMCComplementaryandAlternativeMedicine2013,13:338 Page5of19
http://www.biomedcentral.com/1472-6882/13/338
Table1Summaryofresultsofantibacterialactivityofessentialoils
Vernacularname Botanicalname Activityindiscdiffusion Activityinturbido-metric Activityinzoneofclearance
assay assay assay
Corianderseed Coriandrumsativum ++ +++ +++
(0.0053) (5.82×10-5) (0.0002)
Fennel Foeniculumvulgare + +++ +
(0.0003) (8.01×10-6) (0.0027)
Grapeseed Vitisvinifera - - -
(0.3216)
Lavender Lavendulaangustifolia + ++ +
(0.0039) (0.0031) (0.0011)
Lemonbalm Melissaofficinalis ++ ++ +++
(0.0041) (0.0008) (0.0014)
Lemongrass Cymbopogoncitratus ++ ++ +
(0.0004) (0.0030) (0.0003)
Mandarin Citrusreticulata ++ +++ +
(0.0092) (3.39×10-5) (0.0484)
Neem Azadirachtaindica - ND -
Peppermint Menthapiperita ++ +++ +++
(0.0390) (3.14×10-5) (0.0000)
Pine Pinussylvestris +++ ++ ++
(0.0027) (0.0003) (0.0001)
Rosemary Rosmarinusofficinalis + ++ +
(0.0000) (0.0085) (0.0036)
Sage Salvialavendulifolia + +++ +
(0.0022) (3.39×10-6) (0.0021)
Teatree Melaleucaalternifolia +++ +++ +++
(0.0079) (5.83×10-6) (0.0000)
Thyme Thymusvulgaris +++ +++ +
(0.0020) (5.84×10-5) (0.0193)
Ylangylang Canangaodoratavar.genuina +/- + -
(0.0075) (0.0477)
Crossesdenotethemagnitudeoftheantibacterialactivity;thenumbersinbracketsarethePvaluesobtainedfromttestscomparingthesizeofthehalos
producedwiththeessentialoilswiththoseproducedbygrapeseedoilforthediscdiffusionandzoneofclearanceassays,andfromcomparingtheA ofthe
600
turbidometricassayinthepresenceofessentialoilafter6hourswiththatlackingessentialoil.
Supermarket, Swansea, lemon balm plants were from Dorset, UK) were immediately placed on the surface of
the Swansea City Council Botanic Gardens shop and the bacterial plates and essential oil (10 μl) was added to
spearmint plants were obtained from the Homebase each disc. Grapeseed (Vitis vinifera seed) oil was
superstoreinSwansea.Allchemicalswereobtainedfrom included as a negative control, since it was not expected
Sigma Chemical Company (Poole, Dorset) unless other- to exhibit any antibacterial activity [75]. Following
wisestated. growth at 37°C for 24 h, the zones of inhibition (halos)
were measured with a ruler to an accuracy of 0.5 mm.
Discdiffusionassay:growthinhibition An absence of antibacterial activity would produce a
A modification of the Kirby-Bauer disc diffusion assay halo of 7 mm diameter, the size of the glass fibre discs.
was used [73]. E. coli bacteria were grown overnight in Disc diffusion assays were also carried out using 10 μl of
Luria Bertani medium [74] at 37°C with shaking at the following antibiotic solutions in order to compare
150 rpm for 16 h and 100 μl of the resulting culture the antibacterial activities of some essential oils with
were spread onto LB agar plates [74] as a lawn. Sterile those of the antibiotics: ampicillin (100 mg/ml in water),
7 mm glass fibre discs (Whatmann GF-C, Sigma, Poole, neomycin (10 mg/ml in water), and rifaximin (100mg/ml
Thompsonetal.BMCComplementaryandAlternativeMedicine2013,13:338 Page6of19
http://www.biomedcentral.com/1472-6882/13/338
in methanol), with disc diffusion assays also being carried initially set at 40°C and then increased steadily to 200°C
outwithwaterormethanolforcomparison. at a rate of 5°C/min. Mass spectrometry (Agilent
Technologies 5973 network mass selective detector) was
Discdiffusionassay:zoneofclearance used in electronic ionisation mode and mass spectral
ThisassaywasadaptedfromthatofBexfieldetal.[76].E. data obtained in the SCAN mode with a massrange m/z
colibacterialovernightculture(100μl)wasspreadaseptic- 40 - 550. Each tube was run twice to prevent carry-over
ally onto LB agar plates, and grown overnight at 37°C for of volatiles onto the cold trap in subsequent samples
16h.Sterile7mmglassfibrediscscontaining10μlessen- and to check for VOCs inherent in the system. Three
tialoilwereaddedtoeachdisc.Grapeseedoilwasusedas sampleswere taken foreachtype ofoil.
a control. The plates were grown at 37°C for a further Automated peak detection and baseline correction was
2 days and the diameters of the zones of clearance were used to calculate peak area and retention time (RT) for
measuredwitharulertoanaccuracyof0.5mm. each compound. Using an automated library search
function in the Chemstation GC/MS software (Agilent
Turbidometricassay Technologies), VOCs were tentatively identified using
E. coli DH5α were grown in LB medium for 16 h over- the NIST 98 mass spectral library (The National Insti-
night and the concentration of bacteria in the overnight tute of Standards and Technology) at the apex of each
culture was determined by measuring A [77]. Essen- peak and utilising probability based matching (PBM).
600
tial oil (100 μl) was added to 102 ml LB medium in a The list of compounds generated was re-checked using
500 ml conical flask. The flask was shaken to mix the forward-search matching and compared with the litera-
contents and 2 ml of the liquid were removed to cu- ture. The consistency of the mass response across the
vettes for use as blanks. Bacterial overnight culture con- retention time range was checked by injecting aliquots
taining 1 × 108 E. coli cfu was added to the flask, which of toluene, xylene and dodecane directly into sorbent
was shaken to mix the contents. A sample was removed tubes (1 part in 10,000 in methanol), and measuring the
to a cuvette and the A was measured against the area under the curve. These compounds gave very simi-
600
blank. The bacteria were grown at 37°C with shaking at lar mass responses for given concentrations, indicating
150 rpm and the A was measured after 1 h and every that the area under the curve for each compound could
600
20 min thereafter for a further 5 h by sampling from the beusedtoapproximatelyindicatetheabundance level.
flask. Controls were performed, either lacking essential The compounds that make up essential oils are often
oil,orcontaining100μlgrapeseedoil. present in a range of optical and structural isomers with
similar mass spectra and sometimes differing retention
GC/MSofessentialoils times. It is therefore difficult to precisely identify all
The chemical composition of the oils was evaluated by compounds [78]. The separation and analysis methods
injecting samples of dilute oil onto sorbent tubes, then employed do not allow identification of optical isomers,
extracting with thermal desorption for analysis using gas or all structural isomers, so while the compounds
chromatographywith massspectrometry (GC/MS). present will probably be specific optical and structural
Oils were diluted to 1 part in 1000 in HPLC grade isomers, compound identification has been limited to
methanol and injected in 10 μL quantities into sorbent generic,ratherthanspecific,isomeric structures.
tubes (6.4 mm diameter stainless steel containing Tenax
W
TA sorbent). A stream of helium was used to remove Preparationofplantextracts
the methanol over 3 minutes at a flow rate of 30 ml/min Extracts were made from freeze dried coriander, lemon
and at room temperature. Sample tubes containing the balm and spearmint leaves with various solvents using a
oils were loaded into an Ultra unit (Markes Inter- modification of the methods of Wong and Kitts [79] for
national, Llantrisant, UK) for automated processing via a coriander and lemon balm or Lopez et al. [80] for mint.
Unity thermal desorption unit and fed with inert helium In each case, freeze dried leaf material was ground or
at 10 psi to desorb the tubes in a 30 ml/min stream of chopped with a razor blade, resuspended in 10 ml solv-
inert helium at 300°C for 5 minutes. To further concen- ent and left to macerate at room temperature for 18 or
trate, the flow was driven onto a cold trap (U-T11GPC, 24 h. The extracts were filtered through filter paper
general purpose graphitized carbon C4/5-C30/32) set (Whatmann No. 1, Fisher Scientific. Loughborough, UK)
at -10°C. The trap was then desorbed at 300°C for 3 mi- and either used neat, or dried in a rotary evaporator set
nutes with 50 ml of the sample stream vented and the to 50°C and resuspended in the appropriate solvent. Ex-
remainder injected into the GC (Agilent Technologies tracts were stored at –20°C and equilibrated to room
6890 N gas chromatograph). The VOCs were separated temperature before use. The extracts were tested in disc
using a capillary column (30 m × 0.25 mm id, HP-5MS diffusion assays. Negative controls consisted of the solv-
film thickness 0.25 μm). The column temperature was ent that had been used to prepare the extract, in each
Thompsonetal.BMCComplementaryandAlternativeMedicine2013,13:338 Page7of19
http://www.biomedcentral.com/1472-6882/13/338
case, whereas the appropriate essential oil was used as Results
thepositive control. Discdiffusionassaystoexaminetheantibacterialactivity
ofessentialoilsagainstE.coli
Plant essential oils were tested for their antibacterial
Statistics activity against E. coli DH5α by disc diffusion assays (see
The null hypothesis states that there is no difference be- Figure 1). The largest halo diameters were produced by
tweenthediameterofthehalosinthediscdiffusionassays pine (Pinus sylvestris), thyme (Thymus officinalis) and tea
or the A values in the turbidometric assays, and those tree (Melaleuca alternifolia) oils, with mean halo diame-
600
of the controls. Two-tailed independent samples t tests ters of 38.7 +/- 3.3 mm for thyme, 31.3 +/- 3.7 mm for
were carried out to determine the probability that the pine and 27 +/- 1.5 mm for tea tree, against a mean halo
diameter of the halos in the disc diffusion asays differed diameterof7+/-0mmforthegrapeseedoilnegativecon-
from those of the controls by chance. The results of the trol. The results were highly significantly different from
turbidometricassayswereanalysedbyaone-wayANOVA thecontrolineachcase(P<0.01).Thisdemonstratesthat
andpost-hoctestusingSPSS. theseoilshavestrongantibacterialactivitytowardsE.coli.
C
B
Figure1Antibacterialactivityofessentialoilsindiscdiffusionassays.A)Exampleofdiscdiffusionassayplateshowingthehalosinthe
bacteriallawnresultingfromtheantibacterialactivityoflemonbalmandcorianderoilsagainstE.coliDH5α.B)Graphofmeanhalodiameters
fromthreediscdiffusionassaysshowingtheeffectofessentialoilsonthegrowthofE.coli,+/-SEM.C)Graphofmeanhalodiametersfromfour
replicatesofasinglediscdiffusionassayshowingtheeffectofessentialoilsorantibioticsonthegrowthofE.coli,+/-SEM.ttestswerecarried
outtodeterminewhetherthehalosproducedbyrifaximinweresignificantlydifferentfromthesolvents,essentialoilsorotherantibiotics.
Significancelevelsobtainedfromtwo-tailedttestsaredenotedbystars:*=significant(P<0.05);**=highlysignificant(P<0.01);***=veryhighly
significant(P<0.001).
Thompsonetal.BMCComplementaryandAlternativeMedicine2013,13:338 Page8of19
http://www.biomedcentral.com/1472-6882/13/338
Antibacterial activity against E. coli was recorded at a than the disc diffusion assay [81]. It can also reveal
more moderate, but still statistically significant level with whether the oil slows down the growth of bacteria, or in-
coriander seed (mean halo diameter of 18 +/- 2.4 mm), hibitsgrowthaltogether.TheresultsareshowninFigure2.
lemongrass(18+/-1mm),peppermint(17.7+/-3.5mm), TheAbsorbance valuesobtainedafter360minutes,cor-
600
lemonbalm(16+/-1.5mm),fennel(14+/-0.6mm),sage responding to bacterial growth were analysed by one way
(14 +/- 2 mm), rosemary (13.3 +/- 0.3 mm), lavender ANOVA. There were significant differences in variance
(13 +/- 1 mm) and mandarin (Citrus reticulata) (12.7 +/- detected between the mean absorbance values at t=360
1.2 mm). The antibacterial activityof peppermint essential mins, F =3253.911, p<0.0001. Post hoc extraction
14, 30
oil was statistically significantly different from that of the (Least Significant Difference method) revealed that there
grapeseed oil control whereas the activities of coriander were significant differences between the standard and the
seed, lemon balm, sage, lavender and mandarin essential samplescontainingtheessentialoils,withtheexceptionof
oils were highly significantly different and those of lemon grapeseed oil (p<0.05), i.e. all of the essential oils inhib-
grass, fennel and rosemary very highly significantly differ- itedthegrowthofE.coliDH5αintheturbidometricassay,
entfromthatofthecontrol.Ylangylang(Canangaodorata exceptforgrapeseedoil.
var. genuina) demonstrated only a very weak antibacterial In fact grapeseed oil produced a small and reprodu-
activity against E. coli (mean halo diameter=8.7 +/- cible stimulation of the growth of E. coli compared to
0.3 mm), which was, however, highly statistically signifi- the standard lacking essential oil in this assay (Figure 2),
cant.Likegrapeseedoil,neem(Azadirachtaindica)oildid suggesting that it is acting as a prebiotic. The other oils
notexhibitanyantibacterialeffectinthisassay. all inhibited the growth of E. coli. Ylang ylang oil inhib-
Disc diffusion assays were also conducted to compare ited E. coli growth by a small amount whereas rosemary,
thediameterofthehalosproducedbytheantibioticrifaxi- lavender, lemon balm, lemon grass, fennel and pine
min(whichhasbeenshowntoreverseSIBOinclinicaltri- inhibited E. coli growth more strongly. The curves for
als) with halos produced by two other antibiotics: samples containing these oils were exponential, indicat-
neomycin (used to treat SIBO and IBS clinically) and ingthatthere wassomebacterialgrowth,albeitless than
ampicillin (used to inhibit the growth of E. coli DH5a in in the control. Mandarin, peppermint, sage, tea tree,
thelaboratory),andessentialoilsofpeppermint,coriander thyme and coriander seed essential oils almost com-
seed and spearmint. The results are shown in Figure 1C. pletely inhibited the growth of E. coli in the turbido-
As expected,themeandiameterofthehalosproduced by metric assay,thegrowth curves were flat.
rifaximin in the disc diffusion assays was larger and very Samples containing lemon balm, lemon grass or man-
highly significantly different from that produced by the darin essential oils had a high OD , even at the start of
600
methanol control, demonstrating that the rifaximin solu- the bacterial incubation, although the absorbances did
tion had antibacterial activity against E. coli DH5α which notrise verysteeply afterthatand,inthe caseofmanda-
wasnotduetothemethanolthatwasusedtodissolvethe rin oil, fell. This should not have happened and cannot
rifaximin.Thehalosproducedbyneomycinandampicillin be attributed to light absorbance at 600 nm by coloured
were larger than those produced by rifaximin, showing compounds in the oils, since the spectrophotometer was
that these antibiotics are more potent at killing/inhibiting zeroed against LB blanks containing the appropriate oil.
the growth of E. coli in the disc diffusion assay than rifaxi- The effect was reproducible with certain oils, but the
min, and the results were very highly significant. Interest- reason for it is not clear – perhaps some of the oils
ingly, there was no significant difference between the formed light scatteringmicelles.
diameterofthehalosproducedbyrifaximinwiththosepro-
ducedbyspearmintessentialoil,suggestingthat,atleastin Zoneofclearanceassay
this assay, spearmint essential oil is just as potent asrifaxi- In order to investigate whether the essential oils could
min. Moreover, the halos produced by peppermint and lyse E. coli that were already present rather than inhibit-
coriander seed essential oils were larger and either signifi- ing their growth, zone of clearance assays were con-
cantly different, or very highly significantly different from ducted, ie glass fibre discs containing essential oils were
the rifaximin in each case, demonstrating that peppermint placed on pre-existing E. coli lawns, and halos were
and coriander seed essential oils have a larger antibacterial allowed to develop. This was important because treat-
activityagainstE.coliDH5αinthisassaythanrifaximin. ments to target SIBO would need to kill bacteria that
were already present in the small intestine, rather than
Turbidometricassaystoexaminetheantibacterialactivity simply inhibitingtheirgrowth.
ofessentialoilsagainstE.coli Coriander seed, lemon balm, peppermint, pine and tea
The antibacterial activities of the various essential oils tree oils exhibited strong antibacterial activity in the zone
against E. coli were also examined using turbidometric of clearance assay (see Figure 3), with mean halo diame-
assays since this method is said to be more sensitive ters of 28.0 +/- 1.4 mm for tea tree, 25.8 +/- 1.8 mm for
Thompsonetal.BMCComplementaryandAlternativeMedicine2013,13:338 Page9of19
http://www.biomedcentral.com/1472-6882/13/338
Grapeseed Ylang ylang
Rosemary Lavender
Lemon Balm Lemon Grass
Fennel Pine
Mandarin Peppermint
Sage Tea Tree
Thyme Coriander
Figure2Antibacterialactivityofessentialoilsinturbidometricassays.Graphsshowingtheresultsofturbidometricassaystoexaminethe
effectofplantessentialoilsonthegrowthofE.coliinliquidculture.Dataarethemeanofthreeexperiments+/-SEM.
peppermint, 24.1 +/- 3.1 mm for lemon balm, 22.8 +/- of the grapeseed oil control (P<0.001) whereas the halo
2.0 mm for coriander seed and 19.1 mm +/- 1.4 mm for diameters for lemon balm were highly significantly differ-
pine essential oils, compared to a mean halo diameter entfromthoseofthecontrol(p<0.01).Manyoftheother
of 7 +/- 0 mm for grapeseed oil. t tests revealed that the oilsexhibiteda smalleffectinthezoneofclearanceassay,
halo diameters for coriander seed, peppermint, pine and namely fennel (mean halo diameter: 11.6 +/- 0.9), rose-
tea treewere very highly significantly different from those mary (11.4 +/- 0.9 mm), thyme (10.6 +/- 1.1 mm),
Thompsonetal.BMCComplementaryandAlternativeMedicine2013,13:338 Page10of19
http://www.biomedcentral.com/1472-6882/13/338
Figure3Antibacterialactivityofessentialoilsinzoneofclearanceassays.Graphshowingmeanhalodiameters+/-SEMobtainedfrom
fourseparatezoneofclearanceassaystodeterminetheabilityofplantessentialoilstolyseE.coli.Significancelevelsobtainedfromtwo-tailed
ttestsaredenotedbystars:*=Significant,P<0.05;**=highlysignificant,P<0.01;***=veryhighlysignificant,P<0.001.
lavender (10.4 +/- 0.6 mm), mandarin (10.3 +/- 1.3 mm), each essential oil. Compound identification is tentative
sage (10.3 +/- 0.6 mm) and lemon grass (10.1 +/- and based on correlation with a mass spectra database.
0.4 mm). The halos for mandarin and thyme weresignifi- Thecompoundsshownarethosepresentinapproximate
cantly different from those of the grapeseed oil control concentrations of 1% or more and were primarily in the
whereas those for fennel, lavender, rosemary and sage form ofterpenesorterpinoids.
werehighlysignificantly different andthehalos for lemon The lemon balm oil primarily consisted of citronellal,
grass were very highly significantly different from the geraniol/nerol (alcohol form of citral) and citronellol,
halosproducedbythegrapeseedoilcontrol. with smaller amounts of citronellol acetate, isopulegol
The results of the disc diffusion assays, the turbido- and limonene (seeTable 2). It was unusual in containing
metric assays and the zone of clearance assays havebeen only a low level of citral, which consists of a mixture of
summarised in Table 1. It can be seen that coriander the two isomeric compounds geranial and neral, and is
seed, lemon balm, peppermint, pine and tea tree essen- usually reported to be a major constituent of lemon
tial oilsperformedwell inallthree assays. balm oil [83-85], although lemon balm oils with only
slightly higher levels of citral than ours have been docu-
Massspectrometryofcorianderseed,lemonbalmand mented [86]. Some of the lower concentration com-
peppermintessentialoils pounds gave similar library matches to one another
Since coriander, lemon balm and peppermint are all culin- despite being detected at different retention times. This
ary herbs and their essential oils are all on the list of food suggests similar structures, which could not be ad-
additivesthataregenerallyrecognisedassafetoingest[82], equately distinguished by the techniques used in the
thermaldesorptiongaschromatographymassspectrometry study, and these compounds have been labelled as “un-
(GC/MS) was conducted on the coriander seed, lemon known”. The peppermint oil consisted primarily of
balm and peppermint essential oils used in this study to menthol and menthone, with smaller amounts of
identifythe compoundspresent,andtoassesswhetherthe eucalyptol (1,8-cineole), menthyl acetate and caryophyl-
oilswererepresentativeoftheirrespectivetypes. lene(seeTable3),which isinagreementwithotherpub-
Sample chromatograms are shown in Figure 4. Lists of lished analyses of peppermint oil [87-89]. The coriander
the main compounds detected by GC/MS are tabulated seed oil consisted primarily of linalool, with smaller
for lemon balm, peppermint and coriander seed oils in amounts of cymene, camphor, pinene, linalyl acetate,
Tables 2, 3 and 4 respectively. The approximate concen- limonene and terpinene (see Table 4). The compounds
tration is calculated as the mean of three samples of were similar to those reported elsewhere for coriander